Third Time Around
by LostLoveIsDead
Summary: Alice has finally returned to Underland. As they say, the third time is the charm. Back again, with more mischief and mayhem to ensue, will she fall in love with the same world she had as a child? Full summary inside. Alice/Hatter
1. Chapter 1

**Third Time Around. **

_LostLoveIsDead_

Disclaimer: I do not own Alice in Wonderland.

Rated: T to be safe.

Summery: Alice has finally returned to Underland. As they say, the third time is the charm. She has already left twice and this time- she has no intent on leaving so soon. Though new problems and mayhem will occur, will Alice still have the same love she had for the mystical world as she did as a child? Read and Respond. :)

*

Two years long gone, and now I return. I stood above the rabbit hole I fell into not too long ago. I had told him that I needed to finish some business, and now, that business was done. I tied all my loose ends and was ready for another stage in life. To be honest, it was more of a completely other life. Underland was a wonderful place, where time was no object and life had no bounds. Nothing was impossible in Underland.

I lingered over the hole for another moment mustering up the courage to go. If I went now, I would leave behind a world I once called home. Although, this world was no longer home for me. After tasting this fruit of desire, I felt something missing. The sunny days and colorful flowers all seemed dull now. After being somewhere as vibrant as Underland, there was no real turning back. Not to mention that one, pestering, thing that was kept prominent in my mind.

"Wheres that muchness, Alice?" I asked myself quietly. My hair was strewn back into a ponytail but still fell wild no matter what I did. I closed my eyes and breathed in, thinking of what was on the other side. Before I could stop myself, I felt my feet fly into the air and I was suddenly cascading quickly down the abyss.

Clocks were looming around me; random instruments and trinkets floated by my face. Ticking noises still sounded prominently in my ears. It was such an odd passage, not one to say I enjoyed for that matter. It made me fall sick to my stomach, but it was all worth it. The piano butted closer to my face; I held in my breath and it floated away as quickly as it had come.

I felt myself collide with the floor harshly, quicker then I could have remembered. I laid on the ground in utter silence for a moment, a splitting headache forming at the collision. I blocked it out of my mind while I stood up quickly. Seeing the vile and key on the table, I couldn't help but smile.

I grabbed the key anxiously in my fingers before taking the vile, and sparing no time, took a large sip. I placed it back on the table just in time before I began to sink down to the size of a carrot. I emerged from my oversized dress and grabbed a chunk of cake placing it in my pocket, the familiar rags hanging over me. I approached the door that lead to my place not forgotten and slipped the key into the hole. I turned the key as fast as I could and walked through the door. As soon as the door shut I remembered a slight dilemma. As soon as I ate the cake, I would be left with no clothes.

"Ahh... Think Alice, think." I recently had started talking to myself more then I honestly should have been. It was a problem I learned to ignore. _Nothing is impossible in Wonderland. _The thought ran precariously across my mind as I stopped. I thought deeply, concentrating while I ate my cake. While I expanded back to normal size, my clothes expanded with me. All it took was a little mind power. I chuckled to myself as I looked around the familiar surroundings, how I missed this land so.

I took off down the path that was covered in soft green grass. The sun showing profusely, illuminating colors I didn't even know to be in the spectrum. What a wonderful world it was. I took in every bit of the world that I had thankfully returned to as I felt something glide across my shoulder.

"_Thee_ Alice? Could it be?" A silky voice aquatinted me as a smile drifted across my face.

"Is this who I think it is?" I smiled turning around to be met with the cheshire cat.

"Your back!" The cat popped up next to me; that was a habit of his I never quite got used to.

"I am indeed!" I smiled at the cunning cat.

"Well why don't you tell your dear friend why you have been gone so long?" He smiled back to me.

"I would love to, but while I do tell you... Could you possibly do me a favor?" I asked politely.

"Anything for dear ol' Alice!" The cat replied, the smile never fading.

"Could you please take me to the Hatter?" I asked raising an eyebrow, hoping for the best. If possible, the smile grew.

"Why of course. Now if you would kindly start with you story, fallow me" The cat glided through the air smoothly, never loosing sight of me. I fallowed him as I began my story of the two long years I had waited to return.

*

**I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter. I will definitely try to update this particular story once a week. Of course sometimes It will be more! For my random plot bunnies I have a drabble series for Alice in Wonderland as well. As for anyone who was reading my Harry Potter work, I'm sorry. Any thoughts of a sequel will be 100% put off till' summer. Although, there will be the one shot here and there. Reviews are very highly appreciated. Each one means the world to me. :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Third Time Around**

LostLoveIsDead

_Disclaimer: I do not own Wonderland, Underland, or anything related to or apart of such._

**I would like to specially thank Pilot 101, Dagger Kitsune, Kurogawa Yumi, Laira403, Princesakarlita411, sami1010220, CaitlinClare, Savannah Cullen, Umino Akiko, summerrayah, and Shi-Toyu for their lovely reviews. :) Also, I would like to thank everyone who favored or put this story on Alert! I read and (try to) respond to every review I get. I mean it when I say they really do mean a lot to me. Please, If you have the time- leave feedback. It puts me in a wonderful mood. :) Also, I completely blew off all my work to put another chapter up tonight. Worth it? I think so.**

******_*If anyone is interested in beta reading this story please contact me. I try my best to proof everything but I just simply don't have the time to catch everything. Thank you!***_

*

"All the way to China?" Chesh exclaimed, gliding backwards in front of me as we walked down the winding path.

"All the way to China! It was quite the adventure. Nothing quite like here though." I smiled as the sun was dimly setting in the distance.

"Ah, thats why they call it wonderland, correct?" The cat replaced the same coy smile on it's face.

"By 'they' you mean me?" I laughed thinking back to the times I once spent here. The last time I was here I spent so much time trying to get home, I didn't fully take in the wonderful world around me.

"Oh- of course, of course." The cat lingered momentarily before taking off in front of me yet again. I just continued at my own pace, knowing full well he would come back.

"Almost there Alice, I promise." Chesh reappeared at my shoulder, his inky voice staining the air.

I let a small laugh slip in reply, "Thanks Chesh" I smiled. We continued on our way, speaking of random things, occasionally stopping to talk to a curious flower. Just as the sun had finally set over Underland we reached the Hatter's house. They appeared to have had tea not too long ago for the tea set was still outside on the table.

"Thanks again for taking me here, It would have taken me ages to find it again on my own." I thanked the cat that still hovered above me.

"No problem dear Alice. I'll see you tomorrow." Chesh drawled- as it soon vanished with the sunlight. I turned around and looked at the wooden door. I hesitated for a few moments, just examining the wood. I wasn't quite sure what was stopping me from knocking, nerves I suppose. I breathed heavily before knocking twice on the door. Immediately I could hear sounds of rummaging about and a few squeaks. Not a moment too soon, an all to familiar red-head appeared at the door.

"Alice!" His face instantly brightened as he pulled me into a hug that could have easily broken every bone in my body.

"Hatter!" I laughed, hugging him back. I forgot how delightfully vibrant he was. Even his hair was brighter then the gray world I came from.

"Your back! Did you forget me?" He asked. After a few moments of the embrace we pulled apart rather awkwardly. I laughed at his question, sometimes, being mad kept me more sane then anything.

"Of course not." I smiled softly as he invited me inside. The house was small but cozy- despite the fact as soon as I walked in a tea cup was hurled at my head and I was informed I was late for tea. There was a small kitchen with tea brewing, a little living space with a couch and two chairs, and a few closed doors. Despite the bit of clutter, it was just as well.

"Let me get some tea so you can tell me why it took you _so_ long to get back!" The Hatter explained, in a seemingly happy mood. I nodded as he went off into the kitchen to grab two cups and the tea pot. How did they manage to break so many cups and still have more, anyway? I guess that was wonderland for you. I looked into the small sitting space and took a seat on the couch. On the table in front of me there were various scraps from unfinished hats, threads, and pieces of broken teapot hanging about.

"_Thee _Alice?" The Dormouse appeared at the table in front of me as I looked down, a bit taken back by the sudden appearance.

"Oh, Hello! Sorry, I didn't see you there." I chucked leaning closer to the mouse who was now sitting before me. She shrugged it off and continued talking.

"What brings you back to Wonderland?" She questioned. Just then, the Hatter walked back into the room bearing tea. The mouse started laughing softly before becoming a little more incessant.

"I'll catch up with you later." She said through her laughter as she scampered off to the other room where the March Hare seemingly was. I raised an eyebrow briefly and looked up at the man that had just sat down in the chair closest to me.

"Dormouse, don't keep taunting March Hare. I don't think he can take it, but if you can find out how a raven is like a writing desk for me that would be wonderful!" He called over his shoulder to the mouse that had disappeared. He gingerly placed a tea cup in front of me and one in front of himself before pouring the tea and setting the pot down. He picked up his cup and took a small sip, fallowed by a larger one before placing the cup down and looking directly at me.

"You didn't happen to find out what exactly they have in common while you were gone, did you?" He asked, a sudden burst of unknown energy seeped off of him. It was amazing how the energy he gave off seemed to melt away the frustration.

"I can't say I have thought of _any _way that a raven is in fact like a writing desk." I chucked taking a sip of the tea as he let out a toothy smile. As well as making hats, tea seemed to be his specialty.

"I'm happy to see you haven't lost too much of your youness." He smiled taking a sip from the his cup before placing it back onto the table.

"You haven't lost too much of your youness either!" I exclaimed with a smile, a bit of a ruckus could be heard from the other room, but I suppose it was nothing out of the ordinary.

"You were a tad late though, I suppose. _Naughty, naughty_. It took you entirely too long to come back! I'm happy you came back at all though. We were getting a bit nervous!" He jabbered on for a moment. Somehow, all of his nonsensical blabber always made perfect sense.

"Honestly, I wasn't even sure if I was going to come back for a while." I admitted taking the last bit of steaming tea from my cup before placing it back on the table and pulling my feet up onto the couch. His face fell slightly.

"You weren't going to come back?" He questioned, his face could always show any emotion he had to him, it was amazing.

"I wasn't too sure for a while. I am not too entirely sure why I came back. I guess I just felt something missing. The world seemed, much more... dull. It's just something about it down here that is just really very enticing." I said looking down for a moment before looking up to meet his brilliant, green, eyes. The smallest hint of a smirk showed on his face.

"Are you staying?" He asked, with all the hope in the world in his voice. I remained silent for a moment, not entirely sure how to answer. I loved it here, this was a place of dreams. Although, London was my life. I wasn't entirely content to leave it behind but there was just still something, _missing_.

"Well, no one really knows for sure, right?" I raised an eyebrow as I moved some fallen hair out of my face. His face fell once again but was soon replaced by a burning look of curiosity.

"So Alice," He said, quickly changing the topic, "Tell me about what you did while you were gone." He smiled pouring the both of us another cup of tea.

So, I went on explaining my journey to China and around the world. I wasn't entirely sure if he knew everything I was talking about. For a place I was so in love with, I still knew very little of it. No matter if he knew of the stories I told, he still seemed to enjoy them none the less.

"That sounds amazing! Much muchness I presume was used." He smiled as I chuckled.

"Much muchness indeed. So tell me about your time while I was gone." I smiled as he looked down at his tea blankly for a moment before replacing his face with a smile.

"That story will have to wait until tomorrow, Its getting dreadfully late and I don't want to put you in a bad mood before you go to bed" He smiled. I looked at him curiously. What did he mean bad mood? Instead of driving myself crazy over it I decided to listen to him and wait until the morning. I'm sure he had a good reason to wait. After all, time was no object down here in Underland.

When he showed me to the spare room I couldn't say I wasn't surprised. Unlike the rest of the house the room looked untouched. There was a small bed in the corner made up in soft, colorful, sheets and the room was relatively empty. On the other side of the room there was a large pile of hats. Apparently, this was also his convenient storage space.

We bid each other good night as I sat on the end of the bed and fell backwards after he closed the door. No matter how hard I tried to fathom, it was still a miracle to me how I ended up back here in Underland. That night, I slept better then I had in two years.


	3. Chapter 3

A.N.: I am terribly sorry for the delay! This past week has been insanely busy and the next two weeks will not be much better. I will for sure get another (and much better!) chapter up by the end of this coming week. The fallowing week I have midterms and then I am free to write this story. :) I am also sorry for this chapter. It is boring but had to be put up to connect the last chapter to the fallowing one. Thanks for putting up with me! Also, thank you to ALL my reviewers again and the amazing amount of people who put this story on alert. Also, ignore any errors- I was tight on time and just needed to get this up. Enjoy!

The Hatter sat under the tree by his home as the sun rose over Underland. It disappeared into a sea of clouds soon after it floated up into the sky. He sighed, not much light was shown through the day. He casually ripped some grass out of the earth as he felt a tiny being come up and sit next to him.

"Why so glum? She's _back_" Mallymkun sat down next to him, watching the sun ease in and out of the clouds.

"Mallymkun! You know very well why I'm not happy. You _know_ what's going on" he sighed in exasperation, pulling his large hat down to cover part of his face.

"But Hatta! This can all be stopped, you don't have to let it all end around you, she has fixed it once, she can fix it again!" The dormouse argued, standing up.

"I don't know" Tarrant sighed, his eyes fixated on the sky.

"You _do_ know" the mouse looked at him skeptically before a rain drop hit her on the head, "I'm going inside" she declared.

"Don't wake her up...and don't wake up Thackery either! We can't have him banging about the house this early" the Hatter said looking at the mouse, a small smile on his colorful face.

"Whatever you say, Hatta" Mallymkun said with a small heave of breath. The mouse returned inside as he sat under the tree still. There were few raindrops and the wind blew lightly. Underland was truly a magnificent place, but the winds were changing. Under the safety of the tree, the few raindrops that were falling were mostly missed underneath all the leaves.

*

I woke up after a nice long sleep. As I looked out the window all I could see was a blanket of clouds with the sun peeping out here and there. Rain beat exceedingly lightly on the window sill. No other noise could be heard throughout the house, _I guess everyone is still sleeping, _I thought to myself. I quietly opened the door, being sure to make no noise, I crept across the living room floor. No tea was made, so no one was seemingly awake. I opened the front door, stepping out into the rain, closing it quietly behind myself. I immediately saw a vibrant, orange, figure sitting beneath a tree a few feet from the house. I walked over to the Hatter and sat down next to him.

"Alice! Did you sleep well?" his head immediately turned to look at me, my presence accidentally startling him.

"Good morning, Hatta, and yes I did. Thank you" I smiled, looking out to the rain that was beating softly across the world. Rain in London was always so dismal, here it seemed so different. Like it was just a little cleansing for the world. On boat? It was always seen as terrible, for obvious reasons. When I was a child I loved the rain, although, I was never allowed out to play in it. "Did you sleep well?"

A dim smile was sent across his face, "Yes, thank you, Alice" he told me, looking into my eyes for a moment. His usually vibrant green eyes were found stormy and a darker shade of green. No- not anger, worry?

"What's wrong?" I asked, concern in my voice. He looked down momentarily before re-shifting his uncomfortable gaze back up to meet mine.

"Things are changing, Alice. The world is slowly becoming darker and darker again. You see- something _bad_ is happening" he looked back off into the distance as he continued. Worry spread across my face, I hadn't seen him _this _concerned since back before we battled the Jabberwocky. Then again, I hadn't exactly _seen _him since around then. "We fear that _she_ is back. We were called to go to The White Queen tomorrow, it jut so happens that you came along at just the right time" he paused once more. "Alice, tomorrow we leave to go see the queen, she knows everything that is going on. I'm sorry you came at such an-" before he could finish, I interrupted.

"Hatter, it seems like whenever I come there is always something to be done. I will not abandon you guys this time, I promise" I said, like an unspoken vow, I was now bound to finish my business here. Of course I could pick up and run away, but that is something I couldn't dream of doing. Not in a lifetime.

He smiled as his dark green eyes lightened to his normal shade of green, with the slightest hint of yellow easing in and out of them. You really could read him like a mood ring. "Thank you, Alice. Time is changing here, again. As soon as you left color was restored to everything, the darkest things developed a lighter side to them. It was the fall of the Red Queen that did such. It's changing though, Alice, _changing_" he said, the worry returning to his eyes.

I placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, looking off into the horizon. "We will figure something out" I assured him, although- I wasn't quite sure myself. Tomorrow, we would go see Mirana, The White Queen. All I could hope for is that there was not another Jabberwocky lurking around Underland. My eyes met with the Hatter's as he showed a small smile. Only time could tell.


End file.
